Great British Beaches!

When it comes to cracking coastlines, beautiful beaches and stunning sea-views, Blighty really does come up trumps with almost 20 thousand miles of coastline to choose from. Here’s a selection of our favourite Great British Beaches that’ll definitively have you running for your bucket and spade, whatever the weather!

Barafundle BayWe love the name of this little stunner of a beach, located in Pembrokeshire, Wales. If you hit this isolated beach when the weather is feeling generous, you’d be forgiven for feeling like you’ve stumbled onto a golden sandy beach in the Med.

The nearest railway station to Barafundle Bay is Pembroke, but be warned: this beautiful bay is off the beaten track and will require you to arrange for a coach, bus or taxi to take you the rest of the way. Make sure you wear suitable footwear, as there are a lots of steps to descend in order to reach the beach, but views like this don’t come easy.
Find out more about Pembroke and other surrounding railway stations here.

Camber SandsLocated by the village of Camber in East Sussex, Camber Sands boasts Blue Flag award winning sand dunes, stretching for miles and home to many animals and plants. Perpetually breezy (or so it seems), Camber Sands is a haven for kite-boarders and windsurfers who can be seen amongst the surf making the most of this beautiful beach. Being the only sand dune system in East Sussex, much is done to preserve it; chestnut fences and tufts of marram grass that grow sporadically here and there, serve to hold the sand in place and makes for pretty amazing scenery.

Head to Rye railway station (definitely worth a visit in itself) and you’ll be a short journey from the shoreline by car.

Dungeness
Welcome to Britain’s only desert! Well, not quite. Dungeness is often referred to as a desert, owing to the vast expanse of shingle that covers this desolate peninsula, but due to the fact it receives an average of 700mm of rain a year, it can’t truly be classified as a desert.
Not that that has put off anyone visiting or even calling Dungeness home. Artist and film director, Derek Jarman lived here until his death in 1994, living amongst the shingle and in the shadow of the imposing nuclear power station. The unique surroundings of Dungeness has also appeared in the 1981 classic, ‘Time Bandits’ and in music videos and album covers alike. You can head to Rye railway station to visit this remarkable location, but expect to arrange travel from the station to the shingle.

Constantine BayBeaches don’t come much better than this Cornish paradise. This surfer’s paradise is one long stretch of stunning white sands, lying within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Jump on a train to Newquay railway station and pitch up at this ever-popular spot.

Luskentyre BeachOnly at low tide, does this spectacular beach on the west side of the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides really reveal just how remarkable it is. Voted Britain’s beast beach, we couldn’t miss this stunner off the list, despite being difficult to reach. White sands, azure-green waters, wild ponies, dolphins and deer make this beach so special. Getting there isn’t easy however; you could take the train to Oban railway station and catch a ferry bound for Barra at the south end of the Outer Hebrides. Alternatively, you could head to Kyle of Lochalsh and get a bus to Skye before join the ferry at Uig. Either way, it’s well worth the effort.